One-Legged Sage Pose II
एक पाद कौण्डिन्यासन द्वितीय
Eka Pāda Kauṇḍinyāsana II — an advanced balance pose that works the triceps, shoulders, abdominals.
How to do One-Legged Sage Pose II
Read all of it before starting, and read the cautions further down before starting at all.
From a low lunge, work the front shoulder underneath the front thigh so the thigh sits high on the upper arm.
Plant both hands shoulder-width apart with a folded blanket set out in front of them.
Bend both elbows towards a low plank and lean the chest forward past the wrists.
Lift the back foot and reach the back leg straight behind you.
Extend the front leg forward alongside the arm, hold, then lower and change sides.
Hold: 3–5 breaths each side. Keep the breath moving throughout — if you are holding it, the pose is too much for today.
Muscles worked
Where the effort and the lengthening land. Primary groups do most of the work; secondary groups assist or are stretched.
What One-Legged Sage Pose II does
Described mechanically — what the movement does to muscle and joint. Not a list of conditions it treats, because a pose does not treat conditions.
- Holds a wide front-to-back leg split with the whole weight on two bent arms.
- Loads the front shoulder deeply, since the thigh rests directly on it.
- Requires the abdominals to keep both legs from sinking towards the floor.
One-Legged Sage Pose II is one of 31 balance poses in this library and one of 61 poses rated advanced. Poses held on a reduced base — one foot, two hands, or the forearms.
Who should skip One-Legged Sage Pose II, or change it
- Wrist injury or carpal tunnel syndrome.
- Shoulder injury — the front shoulder carries a thigh on top of body weight.
- Groin or hamstring strain, which the split demands.
- Pregnancy and recent abdominal surgery.
- Set a folded blanket in front of the hands; the head is low and a tip forward lands on the face.
General information only — not medical advice. Some asanas are unsuitable during pregnancy, injury or specific conditions. Learn from a qualified teacher and stop if anything hurts. If you are pregnant, recovering from surgery or managing any health condition, ask your doctor before starting a practice, and learn the pose itself from a qualified teacher who can see you move.
Common mistakes in One-Legged Sage Pose II
What tends to go wrong, and the specific correction — not "engage your core".
MistakeFront thigh slipping down towards the elbow.
FixWalk the shoulder further under the thigh before taking any weight.
MistakeChest staying upright so the feet never lighten.
FixBend the elbows and move the shoulders forward of the wrists; height comes from the lean.
What a practice like this costs in energy
Nobody has measured a single asana in a metabolic cart. The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities publishes MET values per style of practice, so One-Legged Sage Pose II is mapped to the nearest published code — 02175, yoga, Power, 4 MET — and the figures below are for a practice of that kind, not for holding this one pose.
| Time practising | 10 min | 20 min | 30 min | 45 min | 60 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 49 | 98 | 147 | 221 | 294 |
Calculated as MET × 3.5 × 70 kg ÷ 200 kcal per minute — the standard ACSM relationship, shown in full on the method page. Scale it to your own weight by multiplying by your weight in kilograms and dividing by 70. The whole activity dataset, including every non-yoga activity, is at BurnLab.
Questions
How do you do One-Legged Sage Pose II?
From a low lunge, work the front shoulder underneath the front thigh so the thigh sits high on the upper arm. Plant both hands shoulder-width apart with a folded blanket set out in front of them. Bend both elbows towards a low plank and lean the chest forward past the wrists. Lift the back foot and reach the back leg straight behind you. Extend the front leg forward alongside the arm, hold, then lower and change sides. Hold for 3–5 breaths each side.
What does One-Legged Sage Pose II work?
Primarily the triceps, shoulders, abdominals, with the hip adductors, wrists, hamstrings assisting or lengthening. In mechanical terms: holds a wide front-to-back leg split with the whole weight on two bent arms.
Who should not do One-Legged Sage Pose II?
Wrist injury or carpal tunnel syndrome. Shoulder injury — the front shoulder carries a thigh on top of body weight. Groin or hamstring strain, which the split demands. Pregnancy and recent abdominal surgery. Set a folded blanket in front of the hands; the head is low and a tip forward lands on the face. This is general information, not medical advice — if any of these apply to you, ask your doctor and learn the pose with a qualified teacher rather than from a page.
Is One-Legged Sage Pose II suitable for beginners?
No. One-Legged Sage Pose II is rated advanced. The shape itself is rarely the problem — arriving at it years too early is. Work through the beginner and intermediate balance poses on this site and learn this one in person.
How many calories does One-Legged Sage Pose II burn?
The honest answer is that nobody has measured a single asana. The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities publishes MET values for styles of yoga, not for individual poses. One-Legged Sage Pose II sits closest to Compendium code 02175, yoga, Power, at 4 MET — about 147 kcal for 30 minutes of that kind of practice for a 70 kg adult. Holding one pose for a minute is a rounding error either way.
Related poses
More balance poses — first at the same level, then the rest of the family.
Asana names are traditional. Every step, benefit and caution on this page is written for YogaPath rather than reproduced from any book, studio or other library — see how this site is written. Energy figures derive from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. General information only — not medical advice. Some asanas are unsuitable during pregnancy, injury or specific conditions. Learn from a qualified teacher and stop if anything hurts.